Hot-Shooting First Half Propels WKU to 88-77 Win at Louisiana-Lafayette

LAFAYETTE, La. — WKU posted one of its best offensive performances of the season en route to an 88-77 win over Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday night at the Cajundome to secure a regular season sweep of the Ragin' Cajuns.

The Hilltoppers (15-14, 9-9) nailed 10-of-20 shots from behind the three-point arc, one off tying a season- and Ray Harper-era high. For the game, WKU hit 50.0 percent from the field in the win.

T.J. Price and Jamal Crook led WKU in scoring with 23 and 21 points, respectively. Price hit 4-of-7 from three-point range while Crook added six assists to his point production for the evening. George Fant finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in just 27 minutes of play after picking up his fourth foul early in the second half.

WKU came out blazing from the floor Saturday night, shooting 63.0 percent in the first 20 minutes (17-for-27) and pouring in 53 points for its highest-scoring half of the season. The Hilltoppers went 6-for-10 from three-point range in the first half, and three players were in double figures in the opening 20 minutes alone.

Price hit four three-pointers and made six free throws en route to 18 points, and Fant went 5-for-9 from the field for 15 points and had seven rebounds. Crook was 4-for-5 for 11 points, and the Hilltoppers made 13 of 14 free throw tries as a team (.929).

The Hilltopper defense limited the Ragin' Cajuns to 42.9 percent shooting in the half (12-for-28), and Louisiana-Lafayette made just two three-point tries.

WKU led by as many as 19 points in the first half.

Louisiana-Lafayette responded by scoring 11 of the first 13 points of the second half, but the Hilltoppers were able to withstand the Ragin' Cajun efforts to get back into the game as Brandon Harris scored all 16 of his points in the game during the second half.

Louisiana-Lafayette (11-18, 7-11) forced WKU into just nine turnovers in the game, ending a streak of 17 games of having more than 10 turnovers. WKU had assists on 15-of-28 field goals in the game and the WKU bench provided a spark with 24 points compared to just eight points for the Ragin' Cajun bench.

WKU concludes the regular season with two home games next week, beginning Thursday night at 7:00 against South Alabama. The game will be televised by the Hilltopper Sports Satellite Network, airing nationally on ESPN3 and ESPN Full Court, regionally on WKYU-PBS and in Louisville on WBNA. Thursday's game will also be broadcast on the radio on the Hilltopper IMG Sports Network with Randy Lee and Hal Schmitt on the call.

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.